Gutter for bowling alley



v Feb. 14, 1961 M. BLATT GUTTER FOR BOWLING ALLEY Filed July 14, 1958 1.14% l X i w 12 1 16 i j M/ 4 ooy O 5 6 4.x 5 4 x. 4 O .4 x OJ 2 n l 4 F 4 M w 5 .w 5 wk x W/O x L1 k k X A .Ml fm 2 x k a x x ,T A 8O .45

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United States Patent GUTTER FOR BOWLING ALLEY Melvin Blatt, 1610 Westover Road, Morrisville, Pa.

Filed July 14, 1958, Ser. No. 748,235

`7 Claims. (Cl. 273-51) This invention relates to bowling alleys and is directed particularly to improved gutter constructions to be located at opposite sides of the alley to receive bowling balls which roll oif the side of the playing surface.

The gutters heretofore used in bowling alleys generally have been formed of plywood members of concave form which are made in sections and supported at spaced points throughout the length thereof by means of saddles or supporting blocks conforming to the lower surface of the gutter. The edge of such plywood gutters at the side thereof adjacent the alley is usually secured in place by nailing through the plywood to the edge board of the alley. The opposite edge of the gutter is then secured in place by a cap strip which serves to hold the gutter down against the supporting saddles. The cap strip is secured to the division boards between adjacent alleys or to members overlying the ball return channel.

In view of the care and accuracy required in constructing bowling alleys, the operations necessary to installa plywood gutter properly requires skilled workmen and a considerable amount of time. Moreover, even when every precaution is taken, one or more of the nails securing the gutter to the edge board of the alley may be loosened by the frequent shocks or impacts of the bowling balls Yfalling into or traveling along the gutter, or by reason of dampness which tends to warp the plywood.

Furthermore, the end of the gutter adjacent the foul line of the alley is usually closed by means of an inclined or wedge shaped block which must be fitted carefully 'against the concave plywood gutter member. This operation not only requires further time and care on the part of Vskilled workmen, but always leaves a joint or seam at the end of the gutter in which dirt tends to accumulate.

In accordance with the present invention, these and other objections to the gutter constructions Vheretofore employed in bowling alleys are overcome and improved gutter elements are provided which are simple and economical to produce and install. v f These advantages are preferably attained by providing thegutter'members with a longitudinally extending flange or retaining means adapted to lit into a groove or other recess in the edge board of the alley so as to hold the gutter in place without the use of nails, screws or other fastening means. The flange and lgroove thus provided permit quick, easy assembly of the gutter member with respect to the alley and further affords support for the gutter member throughout the length thereof. In accordance Withl the present invention, it is also possible to construct the gutter members so that they extend across the division board or structure between two: alleys and have portions of the gutters of adjacent alleys embodied .in a single piece. Such constructions have the further advantage of increased ease of installation and inherent retention of the element in place. lf desired, such a gutter elementmay also embody a portion o'f the track for returning'the bowling ball or may have such a track mounted thereon. c

the preferred form of the invention, the gutter members are formed of molded plastic material and may be fabricated so as to have an integral inclined end portion, for location near the foul line which presents a seamless, smooth surface facilitating cleaning of the gutter.

Accordingly, the principal object of the invention is to provide a novel typeV of gutter construction for bowling alleys which is simple and economical to produce and install.

Another object of the invention is to provide a gutter element for bowling alleys which is formed of molded plastic material.

A further object of the invention is to provide gutter velements which present a seamless inclined end surface which facilitates cleaning of the gutter.

An additional object of the invention is to provide constructions which embody portions of the gutters for two adjacent bowling alleys.

These and other objects and features of the present invention will appear from the following description thereof wherein reference is made to typical embodiments of the invention for the purpose of indicating the nature thereof but without intending to limit the scope of the invention thereby.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a transverse sectional view through a typical form of gutter element embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional View of a portion of an end member employed in the construction of a gutter embodying the present invention;

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view through an a1-r ternative construction embodying the present invention;A

and Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 showing a further alternative form Off the present invention.

In that form of the invention chosen for purposes of illustration in Figs. l and 2, the bowling alley has a playing surface 2 with an edge board 4 formed with a groove or recess 6 which extends lengthwise of the edge board below the playing surface 2 of the alley. The gutter element is indicated generally at 8 and may be formed of any suitable material. In the preferred construction, the element 8 is a molded body of plastic material reinforced with glass liber fabric or other fibrous or textile-like material. However, the gutter element can be formed of extruded molded or stamped plastic, metal or other material or may be fabricated from plywood or other members and in any other preferred manner to provide the desired cross-sectional shape to the element. i

As shown, the element S is provided with a concave, upwardly facing ball receiving channel 1) and is pro-v vided at the side thereof adjacent the playing surface of the alley with a downwardly extending leg 12. The Vleg 12 is preferably inclined inwardly at a slight angle beneath the channel 1i) and is formed at its lower edge with an outwardly extending ange 14 of such size that it will t within the longitudinal groove 6 in the edge board 4 of the alley.

The groove 6 may be positioned as shown in Fig. l adjacent the lower edge of the edge Vboard 4 so that the lower surface of ange 14 rests directly upon the upper Y face of the foundation of sheet material 16 or other sur- Y formed in a single piece for use on adjacent alleys.

3 spondingly enlarged portion of the recess 6 to aid in retaining the flange 14 in place.

The opposite edge portion 20 of the gutter element is preferably also provided with an outwardly extending ange 22 positioned to rest upon'theupper surface of the division board 24 between adjacent alleys.' A c aprstrip 26 may then be secured to the division board over the flange 22 by means of screws 28 or other fastening* means.

The construction thus provided can be Vrmade* of `rein- Iforced plastic or other material and may be placed andsecured in position without driving any nails or fastening means into the edge, boardY 4 of the alley. When the gutter element v8 is formed of reinforced plasticmaterial, it is sufficiently flexible in a transverse direction to permit it to be placed under stress as it is forced into position whereby the leg 12 and flange 14 are continually urged outwardly to retain the flange 14 in the groove 6 in the edge board 4 of theV alley. The operation of installing the Igutter elements can thus be accomplished quickly and easily in a manner to assure a neat, accurate assembly while a substantial saving in construction costs is effected. Moreover, the edge of the gutter adjacent the playingsurface is always held in place and there is no possibility of loosening or theexposure of nails or rough elements to engage the bowling balls even though the gutter is subjected to severe usage.

As shown in Fig. 2, the gutter element 8 may be supported at various points throughout the length thereof by saddles or supporting blocks 30. However, because of the continuous longitudinal support of the gutter element by the leg 12 and flange 22, the saddles 30 may be spaced apart a greater distance than when using a conventional plywood construction, Furthermore, the elementsrmay be readily removed for replacement, if necessary, with-v out extracting nails or otherwise weakening or damaging the edge board of the alley.

Further as shown in Fig. 2, the gutter element located at the end of the gutter adjacent the foul line is provided with an upwardly inclined surface 32 which is formed integral with the concave portion of the gutter. The edges of surface 32 present a smooth rounded corner surface 34 which merges into the concave surface of the channel 10. In this way, the end of the gutter is given an attractive sweeping contour which has no corners or crevices in which dust and dirt may accumulate and cleaning of the gutter is greatly facilitated. Y The gutter elements of lthe present invention may be made up in any desired length. The end gutter element 8 shown in Fig. 2 is, of course, the only element which is formed with the inclined surface 32. The remaining gutter elements, such as that indicated at 8A in Fig. 2 are concave in cross-section throughout the length thereof and Vmay be joined to the section Y8 and to other sections by means of cross straps or other connecting members 36 positioned adjacent the abutting ends of the gutter elements. If desired, thegutter elements may have recesses 38 molded in the end portions thereof to receive the'connecting members or the connecting members may be em-Y bedded inthe plastic material in molding the same so that, they will be ixedly and permanently attached to the gutter elements in a manner to further simplify the assembly i and installation of the gutter.

' In the alternative form of the invention shown in Fig. 3,

the construction embodies two gutter sections which are For this purpose the section 40 is formed with a central web 12. which extends across the division board 44 and is proformed to extend into grooves 52 in the edge boards 54 of adjacent alleys.

The construction thus provided serves to incorporate portions of the gutters for two alleys in a single piece. Moreover, the element is sufficiently exible transversely so that the legs 48 at opposite sides of the piece may be pressed inward to insert the an'ges 50 in the grooves 52 and will thereafter spring outwardly because of the inherent stiffness or resiliency of the material so that both flanges 50 are urged outwardly and'serve to retain the element in place. (Y

Such a double gutterconstruction does not require any fastening means whatever to hold it in place. However, in most installations some form of fastening means such as the screws are employed and are passed through the web 42 into elements of the division structure 44.

Y In the construction shown in Fig. 4, VLthe web 56 of the element 58 is of sucient widthY to extendacross theA structure 60 between two alleys. The upper surface of web 56 is provided with means forminga part of the ball return track. For Vthis purpose metal or fiber strips 62 are arranged in parallel relation on the web 56 and may be received in grooves 64. The strips 62 on one element are aligned with similar strips in other elements placed in end to end relation to complete the ball return track. The strips 62, of course, may be secured to the web56 by any suitable means or they may be molded integral with the web if desired. Y

Further, as shown in Fig. 4, the anges 14A which engage the edge boards of theplaying surface and the recesses into which the flanges extend may be inclined or sloped in form to facilitate application of the gutter element. Such inclined formation also aids in urging the gutter element downward against the foundation sheet 16 by reason of the outwardly urged inclined shape of the anges 14A.

Gutters for bowling alleys embodying the present invention are easily produced and may be installed very quickly and with a minimum of labor. Moreover, they can be removed, if desired, without damage to the alley. The construction also lends itself to application to existing alleys and when the elements are formed of molded plastic material, the problems heretofore encountered due to dampness and warping are overcome. i A

The form, length and styling of gutter elements ein bodying the present invention can obviously be varied to meet any particular needs. VThe location of the flanges and grooves which secure the edges of the gutter elevided with gutter portions 46 at the opposite edges therey of. The outer edges of the gutter portions are each formed with a downwardly turned leg 43 and an outwardly projecting marginal ange 50. The flanges 570are ments in place can also be varied as desired. In view thereof, it should be understood that the particular forms of the invention shown in the drawing and described above are intended to be illustrative onlyfand are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A bowling alley comprising a playingsurface hav# ing an edge board with a longitudinally extending recess in the laterally facing surface thereof and an elongated gutter element positioned adjacent said edge board and having a concave upwardly facing ball receiving channel therein, the edge of the gutter element adjacent ltheedge board having an outwardly projecting flange thereon positioned in the recess in the edge board, the opposite edge of the gutter element being tixedly secured in place and said gutter element being transversely flexible and resilientwhereby'the inherent resiliency thereof servesl continuously to urge said ilange into said recess.

2. A bowling alley comprising a playing surface having an'edge board with a longitudinally extending recess in the laterally facing surface thereof, and a gutter ele,

`ment formed of'moldedplastic material presenting a transversely :yieldable and resilient and lsaid flange being continuously urged into said recess by the inherent resiliency of the gutter element.

3. A gutter for a bowling alley comprising a channel member which is transversely yieldable and has a supporting leg extending downward along an edge thereof and terminating in an outwardly projecting flange for engagement with an edge board of a bowling alley.

4. A pair of gutters for adjacent bowling alleys comprising a unitary piece of material formed with a central web shaped to extend across a division structure between adjacent alleys and having parallel channel shaped gutter forming portions located at opposite sides of said web and aranged in parallel relation, said gutter forming portions having outwardly extending flanges on the outer edges thereof engageable with the edge boards of adjacent alleys, said material being transversely yieldable and normally tending to assume a position urging said anges apart.

5. A bowling alley having a playing surface embodying longitudinally extending wooden members including an edge board located at the side of said playing surface, said edge board presenting a, laterally facing surface provided with a longitudinally extending groove spaced downwardly from said playing surface, a gutter member extending lengthwise of the alley adjacent said edge board and presenting an upwardly facing concave surface, the side of said gutter member adjacent said edge board having a downwardly extending leg positioned adjacent the laterally facing surface of said edge board, a longitudinally extending flange on said leg extending into the groove in the edge board and means adjacent the opposite side of the gutter member cooperating with said flange to hold the gutter member in place with respect to said playing surface.

6. A bowling alley of the character defined in claim 5 wherein said gutter member is transversely yieldable and resilient and said flange is continuously urged into said groove by the inherent resiliency thereof.

7. A bowling alley comprising a supporting structure presenting an upwardly facing surface, means forming a playing surface resting upon the upwardly facing surface of said structure and including an edge board extending lengthwise of the alley at one side of the playing surface, said edge board having a laterally facing surface with a groove therein extending longitudinally of the edge board adjacent the upwardly facing surface of the supporting structure, a gutter member positioned adjacent said edge lboard and presenting a concave ball receiving channel, a downwardly extending leg on the gutter member positioned adjacent the laterally facing surface of said edge board and having an outwardly extending flange thereon resting upon the upwardly facing surface of the supporting structure and extending into said groove.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 525,172 Wiggins et al. Aug. 28, 1894 1,961,765 James June 5, 1934 1,967,858 Borders July 24, 1934 2,301,778 Gremp et al. Nov. l0, 1942 

